Special Chapter VII - Barbeque (part 1)

"This is tasty!!"

Lyona shouted when she took a bite from the meal I made. Our super expensive inn had a kitchen, so I thought I could cook something from my world.

Not even once have I seen a kitchen before. There was one at Hod's, but that doesn't mean I can just casually cook there. I'm not his wife, nor am I his chef.

But here, I get to cook as much as I can, since this kitchen is basically for us. The kitchen had quite a good quality, the stove wasn't so bad, and pretty wide. I can't expect something like an oven in this world, so I can't really make a pizza.

So, I thought maybe I could cook something a little bit more traditional. My mother taught me how to cook this. It was one of the best foods in the world.

Barbequed chicken.

"It's so delicious! What was it called again?"

"Barbeque sauce. It's tasty isn't it?"

I took a sip from the sauce with my spoon. Though the taste was a little off since I didn't use many recipes besides tomato and pepper, but for someone like Lyona who had never tasted it before, it's the perfect taste.

"How do you know this!? You have to give me the recipe!"

"Well… I came up with it."

I lied.

"Give me the recipe!!!"

"Okay, geez!"

She seemed to really like it.

Looking at her bright face made me forget about everything else. A week has passed since we came here, and not a single letter came from the queen, nor any news from the knights.

It's currently morning, and the sunrise bell just rang about an hour ago. Lyona was so stressed out yesterday, so I thought I should cook something tasty for her to help us forget. We hit the market yesterday next to the clock tower, and I bought some ingredients to make a barbeque chicken. 

Luckily, that method works.

"If only Eva can eat this…"

Oh dear, here we go…

I placed my hand on top of her shoulder.

"Then, make sure she gets to taste it, one day."

I said to cheer her up. She smiled brightly… only for a few seconds before screaming at me again.

"Teach me how to cook this!"

"Grab the ingredients!"

After that, I began teaching Lyona how to cook the barbeque. It was fun because I never really taught anyone anything before, and I myself am still rather new to this. 

We laughed a lot when we tasted the barbeque sauce that she made because it tasted so horrible. I told her the mistake and she made it nicely on the second try.

Everything was perfect, but then the bell rang to our room.

"Who could it be?"

Lyona asked while stirring the sauce on the frying pan. I lifted my shoulder and walked towards the door.

"Who knows? Maybe the cleaning service?"

I walked to reach the door and opened it. I was surprised when I saw Eva right outside the door, and her condition isn't what anyone calls 'well'.

She had bruises on her forehead, as well as bandages on her neck. Her expression wasn't quite bright, though it was never bright, but this is even grimmer. She wore this black clothes that covers the entire top and a casual long brown skirt.

But, that's not all…

"E-Eva."

I stuttered at my words. I was quite shocked to see her condition, but her cold eyes were much sharper than it was the last time I saw her.

She has gone through... a lot.

"May I… come in?"

I gestured my hand to let her in, and Eva began walking forward. She walked in and turned to face her master, who just realized who the guest was.

"Eva!!"

Lyona jumped from the kitchen all the way to her friend. She cried in her arms, and Eva slowly lifted her left arm to hug back.

Immediately, I noticed something wrong.

"Eva, your hand..."

The whole top of her body was covered in black robe, so I couldn't really see. But now, I understand why she did it.

Eva lost her right arm.

"E-Eva!? What happene-"

"We need to talk."

I showed Eva the room and had her seat at the sofa. Me and Lyona sat across from her, waiting for her to speak.

Lyona had already turned off the stove and stopped cooking completely. Seeing Eva coming in this state totally shuts down her mood.

"You… need to get out of this kingdom."

Eva said to Lyona out of the blue, which shocked the noble lady.

"W-What?"

"There are people hunting you down... And I can't protect you if things became worse."

Eva said with a serious tone, and she turned her glare to me. From her eyes, she wasn't kidding. Then again, it's not her type to be telling jokes.

People are already coming for Lyona. But having Eva here to tell us that means the situation has become even worse than before.

"Tell me more."

I said to her, and she nodded. My mission had nothing to do with Lyona's safety, but if Lyona went back to Mazino, then that means I'm up by myself to take down the rebellion.

However... my enemies were never the rebellion.

Eva started to explain the situation from the beginning. Ever since the start, Veldonia kingdom never wished for peace. It's just that if they say publicly that they rejected peace, it will make them look suspicious in front of the other kingdoms. 

So, to prevent other kingdoms from meddling in, they acted as if they tried to make peace with the rebels, but failed horribly and ended up with a war.

One of their plans was to find a middle ground from another kingdom and assassinate them once they got into the kingdom. They will then blame the rebellion for assassinating the middle man, which should give Veldonia the green light to completely annihilate the rebellion, without garnering suspicion from the other kingdoms.

Which means... their original plan has always been to assassinate Lyona.

Since the very beginning… they wanted Lyona dead. 

Hearing the truth, Lyona gripped her palm so hard that it turned red. I only watched silently as the young noble lady realized that she was being toyed with this whole time, and Lyona turned her enraged eyes back to Eva.

"Which means… they never wanted… peace?"

"No. They never did."

"Then, what happened to you-"

"What happened to us… is none of your concern."

Eva said coldly while closing her eyes, and Lyona opened her eyes widely.

It does hurt me seeing Eva and the knights carrying all the burden by themselves. I'm certain now as to why there has been nothing too dangerous approaching me and Lyona.

Eva and the knights... they've been dealing with the entire kingdom all by themselves, to keep the dangers away from me and Lyona.

There's a reason why Eva closed her eyes just now. Lyona's ability to see the truth comes from her magical eyes, which allows her to see the thoughts of the person she is talking to through their eyes. But, because Eva closed her eyes, Lyona cannot see Eva's thoughts.

"But what happened to you, is ours. We are your guardians, and we have decided to make sure you get back home."

"I... don't get it..."

Lyona's tears started to drop from her eyes, and Eva realized that the talk will only get heavier from this point on.

"You said my safety is your concern, but who decides your safety isn't mine?"

Eva can only stay silent at that. She held her lost arm with her other arm in regret.

"Eva, you idiot!"

Lyona stood up and ran to the balcony. It doesn't look like she is going to jump and suicide, so we just left her be.

Now that Lyona is away, it seems like we can talk about some more serious stuff. I leaned my back to the sofa to relax a bit, and Eva noticed my gesture.

"The sofa is nice, right?"

I asked jokingly, and Eva leaned her back to the sofa deeper as well. She chuckled after realizing.

"This feels so nice compared to the dark alleys where I slept."

Eva's comment made me understand just how terrible her experience was compared to me, and I felt bad for letting her carry all the burden.

Judging from the situation on her arm, the knights must have lost some people. So, I will first need to assess the situation.